If you have an online business, getting an SSL certificate is a must. When you’re faced with the decision of going for a free or paid certificate, do you know which is truly the best option for you?
Deciding Between Free and Paid SSL Certificates
Security has always been a major concern of the online community. Given that hacking attempts or attacks and other illegal activities have affected even those considered secure platforms, security has become a legitimate concern for both website owners and users.
SSL certificates exist as a way to manage online security, and it doesn’t hurt that they help with the rankings on search engines. If you’ve heard or read about SSL certificates before, you know there are two categories: free and paid —also known as commercial SSLs. So, which is better? If you’re in the market for an SSL certificate and are unsure which kind would serve you the best, we’ll break it down for you and hopefully, this will help you make a better-informed decision.
Free SSL Certificates
As you can imagine by the name, Free SSL certificates are free of cost. They provide HTTPS access and can be self-signed —signed by the issuer, or signed by a Certificate Authority (CA). The level of encryption is the same as the paid certificates. The difference lies in other details.
Type
Domain Validated, which is a rather basic level of authentication.
Level of Validation
Before issuing a certificate, the CA only validates the identity of the website owner.
Expiration
Certificates are valid for 30 to 90 days and must be renewed after that.
Support
None. Since the certificates are free, certificate authorities can’t afford to provide quality support.
Paid SSL Certificates
To get a Paid SSL certificate, you need to purchase it from a trust-worthy certification authority or from 3rd party companies, known as resellers. From an encryption standpoint, paid certificates offer the same as the free ones plus many other services that the free ones don’t.
Type
Offer all three certificate options: Domain Validation (DV), Extended Validation (EV), and Organization Validation (OV).
Level of Validation
Before issuing a certificate, the CA carries out a more detailed verification of the business.
Expiration
Paid certificates are issued for 1 to 2 years.
Support
Certification authorities and resellers offer support 24/7 to their paying customers, via phone, email or chat.
Impressions Agency recognizes the importance of keeping your site secure. We recommend that our clients choose a paid SSL certificate, as it doesn’t have to be renewed as often and provides many other valuable benefits.
